The invention relates to high pressure hydraulic cylinders with an improved mechanical joint for joining the barrel of the cylinder to the bearing or head end. More particularly, the invention relates to a locking wire type joint which prevents relative rotational movement between the cylinder barrel and mating end member.
In the hydraulic cylinder industry it has been a well-known concept to use a removable locking wire between matching grooves in the cylinder barrel and bearing to hold the bearing in place, such as the joints shown in the patents to Ingram U.S. Pat. No. 1,464,386, and Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 2,890,073. The locking wires used in hydraulic cylinders are basically the same as taught in the above mentioned Ingram patent. One of the problems with this type of joint is that there was no means to prevent rotational movement between the barrel and the bearing end, and therefore in situations where an application required a positive positioning between the cylinder barrel and its mating part, this design could not be used. In the Thomas patent in FIG. 8, in species is shown with an offset bend in the end of the wire. However, the bearing is prevented from rotation in only one direction since the shoulder 60 will not provide a positive lock. Another disadvantage of these prior art wire joints was the difficulty required in disassembling the cylinder due to the difficulty in removing or prying out the wire end during disassembly.